All posts tagged Colin Firth

“If I want to send a message”, Sam Goldwyn is supposed to have said, in a swipe at the pompous self-righteousness of the auteurs of his profession, “I’ll use Western Union.”

Of course, his heirs have no such inhibition. They really do see themselves as purveyors of great cultural, social and political messages. The less restrained can’t resist making their points in their acceptance speeches. The rest hope their movies suffice to convey the idea.

Months before its release the new movie “The King’s Speech” had been generating talk of awards and accolades. Now moviegoers–at least ones in New York and Los Angeles–are finally getting to see what the fuss is all about. Most critics have raved about the film, and have lavished praised on Colin Firth’s performance as King George VI of Britain, who must fight to overcome a severe stutter to help rally his country during World War II.

When Colin Firth was preparing for his role as the stammering King George VI in “The King’s Speech,” he couldn’t employ his usual method of shadowing the person he was about to play like he would do for other films.

“Kings and queens don’t make themselves available to actors,” he said last night at the 92nd Street Y in New York. Dead ones especially, we thought. So he did the next best thing and relied on the experiences of David Seidler, the film’s screenwriter. Seidler, who had a speech impediment himself growing up (acquired after evacuating Britain for America in WWII), was inspired by King George’s speeches, especially after he learned that the King had overcome a stutter.

“This story is as much about David Seidler as anyone,” Firth said. But the actor also drew on his own experience of a nodule on his vocal chords that prevented him from being able to speak “satisfactorily” when he was 25. While the situation wasn’t as extreme as a stutter, he admitted, he found it so debilitating he avoided crowded rooms. “It was tied up in my identity,” he said. Read More »

Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California was an ironic place to play tribute to “The King’s Speech,” noted the film’s director last night. Tom Hooper, who is winning raves for his drama about King George VI (Colin Firth) and the Australian speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) who helps him the eve of World War II, told the gathered audience that the theater was built in 1927, two years after the initial events that start off his historical film. The first film to play Grauman’s? Cecil B. DeMille’s “The King of Kings.” Read More »

LONDON–As King George VI in the film “The King’s Speech,” Colin Firth struggles with his words–but his performance certainly has members of the film industry talking.

The European premiere of the film at London’s Odeon in Leicester Square on Thursday night drew a star-studded crowd, including Sir Ben Kingsley, Tim Burton and the cast, including Helena Bonham Carter and Australian actor Geoffrey Rush. Claire Danes and about 500 hundred London socialites then partied at Just St James at the American Express Gala during the 54th annual BFI London Film Festival. Read More »

Colin Firth is considered a shoo-in for a Best Actor Oscar nomination this year for his leading perfomance in the WWII historical drama “The King’s Speech.” Firth — who was nominated for an Oscar last year for his role in Tom Ford’s “A Single Man,” plays England’s King George VI, who hired a speech therapist to help him overcome his stammer. Geoffrey Rush co-stars as the therapist, with Helena Bonham Carteras the King’s wife. The film has been getting rave reviews at film festivals all around the world, and is expected to rival David Fincher’s “The Social Network” for best-of-year honors — setting up a showdown between an old-school British drama against a digital age story. Watch the trailer after the jump. Read More »

“The King’s Speech” has won the Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award, propelling the movie to frontrunner status in this year’s award season. To be released by The Weinstein Company in the U.S. this November, the uplifting period drama follows a British monarch with a speech impediment on the eve of WWII. “The First Grader,” another British film about a grade school in Kenya, was the runner-up.

Unlike Cannes, Venice or Sundance, Toronto is not competitive and does not give out juried prizes. But its People’s Choice Award has historically been a hallmark of impending success, both at the Oscars, and often times, at the box-office, as well. For the last two years, Toronto’s moviegoers picked some big winners in “Precious” (2009) and “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008). Over the years, other People’s selections include 2005 foreign-language film Oscar-winner “Tsotsi,” art-house hits “Amelie” (2001) and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000), and Academy Best Picture winner “American Beauty” (1999).

As a place to begin Oscar buzz, there are few places like the Toronto festival—where the North American entertainment press corps gathers to strong central performances like jackals to prey. Read More »

Tomorrow, prolific filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen will release their fourteenth film, a dark comedy about a frazzled physics professor, played by Michael Stuhlbarg, whose life is falling apart. Well-reviewed by critics, the personal film looks like a strong contender come awards season — if it isn’t felled by what I like to call the “Good German Shepherd” Syndrome, a.k.a. the process of unwittingly releasing thematically different, but similarly titled movies too close to each other.

You see, the Coen Brother’s new film is entitled “A Serious Man,” which will soon be followed by the release of fashion designer Tom Ford’s “A Single Man.” Starring Colin Firth as gay professor mourning the loss of his partner, “A Single Man” is also looking to make a mark this awards season (the film is being distributed by the Weinstein Company).

Further complicating matters is the existence of “Solitary Man,” which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, and stars Michael Douglas as a New York car magnate who’s, yup, going through a tough personal crisis.

If you’re as confused as we are, click through for a handy dandy chart to distinguish each film from the others. Read More »

Two weeks ago, actress and singer Patti LuPone grabbed a cell phone out of the hand of an audience member who was texting during a performance of her current play, "Shows for Days." The bold move led to an outpouring of support from fans fed up with glowing screens. Ms. LuPone gives us her five rules of theater etiquette.